Though a long-standing Carbondale Mountain Fair weekend tradition may be ending, organizers of the Mount Sopris Run-Off foot race are confident a new tradition will be born with the revamped event coming up May 19.
Independence Run & Hike is presenting the new Mount Sopris Run-Off 25K (15.5 miles) and 10-Miler trail races up and over the Prince Creek and Crown trails from Flying Dog Ranch and finishing at Rock Bottom Ranch on Sunday, May 19.
In conjunction, there will be a Trail Running Film Festival at TACAW on Friday, May 17 starting at 7:30pm. All proceeds from the weekend events will benefit Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers (RFOV) and its work to build and maintain mountain trails in the region.
For more than 30 years, the Sopris Run-Off road race, founded by Bruce Gabow, started in Basalt, took runners for several grueling miles up West Sopris Creek Road, with a pounding descent on Prince Creek Road into Carbondale on the last Saturday of July — part of Mountain Fair festivities.
What used to be billed as “16 Long Miles” on the backs of the race t-shirts (it was closer to 16.5 miles) was shortened to 14 miles with a new start line at the Emma Schoolhouse when Independence Run & Hike took over the event in 2010.
The tradition has continued for an additional 13 years, but more recently, between the pandemic disruption in 2020, hotter summer temperatures and multiple years when wildfire smoke engulfed the valley, race participation began to dwindle.
Independence Run & Hike owner Brion After added the 4-Mile Fair Run on the lower part of Prince Creek Road in an effort to attract more recreational runners who weren’t up for the longer run.
But the other thing he began hearing was that the hard-core distance runners wanted a different alternative.
Specifically, runners wanted a long trail race more suited to Carbondale’s outdoor culture, rather than the classic road race.
“I think the old Sopris Run-Off is a fantastic race,” After said. “But I’ve just seen the tastes of my customers and people around here in general change, where they’re clamoring for more trail races.”
Several such backcountry races are concentrated in the upper valley in late summer and early fall, including the Power of Four trail runs on July 20 this year, the Aspen Backcountry Marathon on Aug. 12 and the Aspen Golden Leaf Half Marathon on Sept. 28.
So, the other big decision was to make the Sopris Run-Off a spring event; sort of a season kickoff for runners looking to gear up for those later races.
“The nice thing about Carbondale and the Crown is that it does dry out a lot earlier, so a spring race made sense,” he said. “It’s also a good way to get Carbondale more on the map as a trail running destination.”
The 25K and 10-Mile races will take runners up The Crown along a combination of trails including Up ‘N’ Over, Buckhorn, Buckhorn Traverse and Glassier.
Helping stage the event with trail permitting assistance and volunteer support is RFOV, which will also be the primary beneficiary.
Managing race logistics and helping organize the Friday film festival is Kyle Jones, former store manager at Independence Run & Hike, who recently moved back to Austin, Texas.
The finish line for both distances is at Rock Bottom Ranch, where there will be a finish line party and social.
“It’s a really wonderful spot to finish, and we’ll try to have some music and other fun stuff so people can hang out a little bit more at the end of the race, instead of just finishing the race and kind of meandering off,” After said.
Future years could see a full slate of events throughout the weekend, possibly adding a 50K event or shorter distances to appeal to different levels of runners, he said.
“The idea was not only to have a great locals’ race, but also to maybe pull some people from the Front Range or regionally to come out for a really cool race and see what Carbondale is all about,” he said.
The Trail Running Film Festival has been making the rounds for several years and lands at TACAW (The Arts Center At Willits) just in time for this year’s trail races.
Select films center on the love of off-road running with diverse narratives and confronting issues like climate change. The festival will kick off with a panel discussion and will be hosted by Trail Runner magazine Editor-in-Chief Zoë Rom.